I have been reworking my Maintenance and Repair and my CapX numbers a couple different ways and I keep getting approximately the same numbers.My typical unit I am looking at is a 1000 sf 2/1 duplex or 4-plex with hardwood floors in a C-B neighborhood renting for $1000-$1200 built in 1890-1970, yes, quite a range.I added up big ticket items like roof, water heater, new kitchen, etc and divided by life expectancy and came to $1000/unit/year, so I'm assuming $1200/unit/year with a buffer.

I self-manage my properties currently, and love that all the exterior maintenance is taken care of on these units; it makes managing multiple units much more bearable, and I avoid big-ticket items completely, plus don't have to worry about tenants taking care of the lawn.Here are the numbers for all 4:1) Purchase price: 116k 2 bed/2ba/1garagePITIHOA: 655Rent: 1275CF: 6202) Purchase price: 141k 3bed/3ba/no garagePITIHOA: 755Rent: 1350CF: 5953) Purchase Price: 149k 3bed/3ba/2 garagePITIHOA: 840Rent: 1545CF: 7054) Purchase Price: 132k 3bed/2ba/1garagePITIHOA: 835Rent: 1450 (anticipated, just got this one)CF: 615I'm excited about these criteria and my ability to branch out with what I feel to be good investments, in newer buildings, with minimal management on my part.

I know a few older people that did that, they had season tickets to the Red Wings and Tigers, they use to drive down from Troy, Northville, Rochester, etc, but they retired, kids are grown, and they just wander around Downtown/Midtown and go to games everyday.Whole Foods, located in Midtown Detroit in 2014, so everyone knows what that means in terms of incomes for the area.

.- Observe all parking and street sweeping signs to avoid being ticketed or towed.

Kinda like getting your driver license.. without knowing the " traffic laws " you may be able to drive ok.. but when you get pulled over by the cops they will explain what traffic offence you did not know your getting the ticket for.. eh ?

You're able to just purchase a one day ticket (usually about $20) and they have a speaker as well as networking.  

You'll need to account for some big ticket items down the road.

For myself, sending direct mail is like buying a few lottery tickets every week.

I knew real estate was going to be my ticket out of the W2 but I was too scared to fail, too scared to lose money and let other people down.

However, since we recently started our Real Estate venture, we cannot afford to offer free tickets.